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Londoners warned of Underground strikes

Transport for London is warning of serious disruption on London Underground over the next few days, because members of the RMT and ASLEF will be staging industrial action unless there is a last-minute settlement of disputes of over pay and bargaining.The first stoppage, today and tomorrow, affects RMT staff at Engineering Vehicles Operations and Maintenance, who are to walk out for 24 hours from 18.00 this evening.This walkout is not expected to cause significant disruption, but last trains will run earlier than usual on Sunday, and most Underground services will be cancelled from Tuesday to Friday next week. More disruption is expected on Tuesday 12 November.TfL said its other networks, including Overground, the DLR and trams, are not directly affected by the walkouts, but other trains may not be able to call stations which are managed by London Underground. It also warned that alternative services will be busier than usual on strike days, including buses.RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘London Underground’s pay offer falls short of what our members deserve. It threatens to remove collective bargaining for a growing portion of staff, pushing them into pay bands that are decided solely by management. This undermines our members’ rights and the core principles of fair negotiation.’TfL said it was ‘working hard’ to resolve the disputes. Chief operating officer Claire Mann said: ‘We are disappointed that the RMT and ASLEF unions have announced strike action, following our recent discussions over pay, terms and conditions. We are continuing to talk with all trade unions to discuss the issues and seek a resolution. Our offer is fair for our people and affordable for London.‘We urge the trade unions to call off this action, accept our offer, and avoid disruption.’

Autumn budget latest

Budget 2024: updates … The chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that road fuel duty is to be frozen next year. The 5p reduction introduced by the last government will continue. The Transpennine Route Upgrade is to go ahead in full, with further electrification including Church Fenton to York (Colton Junctions). East West Rail is confirmed in full between Oxford and Cambridge. Upgrades at Bradford Forster Square and Manchester Victoria. HS2 tunnelling to London Euston will be funded. Funding for West Midlands Metro to Brierley Hill; upgrades for trams in Sheffield. Leeds trams to go ahead. Annual regulated rail fares cap will rise by 4.6% on 2 March 2025, one percentage point above RPI.  Subject to an industry proposal, the government will also agree a £5 increase to the price of most rail cards (except the disabled person’s rail card).

Rail fares to rise, but HS2 will get to Euston

Autumn Budget 2024 The chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that road fuel duty is to be frozen next year, and the 5p reduction for each litre introduced by the last government will continue. However, regulated rail fares will rise by 4.6 per cent on 2 March 2025, one percentage point above RPI. HS2 tunnelling to London Euston will be funded, and the Transpennine Route Upgrade is to go ahead in full, with further electrification including Church Fenton to York (Colton Junctions). East West Rail is confirmed in full between Oxford and Cambridge. There will be upgrades to stations at Bradford Forster Square and Manchester Victoria,.as well as funding for West Midlands Metro to Brierley Hill and upgrades for trams in Sheffield. Still in Yorkshire, Leeds trams are also going ahead. Subject to an industry proposal, the government will agree a £5 increase in the price of most rail cards (except the disabled person’s rail card). Industry reactions have started to come in. Rail Partners chief executive Andy Bagnall said: ‘Government should set fares at a level that will ultimately encourage more people to travel by train in the future, helping to secure the long-term financial sustainability of the sector and capture the wider economic and environmental benefits of rail for the nation as a whole. The focus must be on growing passenger numbers, not making current passengers pay more. ‘While today’s road fuel duty freeze will be welcome news for motorists, holding it flat since 2010 has made it more difficult for rail freight to compete with road haulage. ‘Rail Partners and its members welcome the rail investments announced in today’s budget including funding for tunnelling to Euston, which helps keep open options for HS2 in the North. ‘Filling the capacity gap left by the cancellation of the northern section of HS2 is still essential if we are to encourage more people to travel by by train and to unlock freight capacity to reduce congestion by moving goods off the roads and on to the railway.’ National Infrastructure Commission chair Sir John Armitt said: ‘We welcome the government’s plan to invest over £35 billion in economic infrastructure in 2025-26. ‘Linking Old Oak Common and Euston is fundamental to the viability of HS2 so we welcome funding for the tunnel connection, which should help secure the maximum economic benefit from the investment already made in the project. The question of how to boost connectivity and capacity beyond Birmingham remains to be answered, and the National Infrastructure Strategy should set out how government plans to address this long-term challenge.’

New boarding plan to ease London Euston overcrowding

Network Rail has taken action to improve London Euston station, where there have been complaints of dangerous congestion on the ramps leading to the platforms after departures had been announced almost at the last minute. A trial of ‘earlier boarding’ is being introduced on Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern trains, so that people will not be in such a hurry. The announcement comes after Network Rail and the Department for Transport had announced a five-point plan to improve the situation. Transport secretary Louise Haigh intervened after protests from passengers and claims that the overcrowding was dangerous. Around 40 per cent of Avanti West Coast departures are now being announced 20 minutes before departure, and the proportion will grow over the coming weeks, while ‘continuous boarding’ of London Northwestern Railway's Birmingham services was introduced on 21 October. Passengers are now invited to platforms to await their train as soon as the previous service has departed. Network Rail West Coast South route director Gary Walsh said: ‘Getting passengers to their services in good time is at the heart of our improvements at Euston, and today’s changes will tackle that issue head-on. Taking quick and effective action is at the core of our five-point plan which I’m pleased to say is starting to deliver for our passengers at London Euston.’ Network Rail has also convened its first rail industry summit to give passenger user groups and government an update on progress with Euston’s five-point improvement plan. Louise Haigh said: ‘For too long, Euston station simply has not been good enough. That’s why I have tasked Network Rail and operators with delivering a clear plan to alleviate some of the issues passengers are facing while we work on a long-term solution for the station.’

Monday briefing: Trains return to Cambrian line

Cambrian line reopens after accident Train services have returned to the Cambrian line this moning after the collision between two passenger trains a week ago at Talerddig, in which one passenger died and 15 were injured, four seriously. Evidence from the scene is now being considered by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which has said rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’. Signalling upgrade No trains are running in south London between Crystal Palace, Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye so that signalling can be upgraded. The possession began on Saturday and will continue until 1 November. Network Rail hopes that the upgrade will reduce the number of delays caused by signalling problems, following similar work between East Croydon and London Victoria in 2022 which it says reduced delays by more than half. World engineering Transport UK has become a commercial partner for UNESCO World Engineering Day 2025. Transport UK is the successor to Abellio in Britain, and currently owns several train operating companies as well as holding 11 per cent of London bus contracts. The UNESCO campaign recognises the role of science and engineering in sustainable development around the world.

Cambrian line set to reopen on Monday

Trains are expected to start running again on the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Shrewsbury on Monday. Buses have been replacing trains since last Monday, when two Transport for Wales trains collided head-on near Talerddig passing loop. One man died and fifteen other passengers were injured, four of them seriously, when a westbound train overran the loop and collided with an eastbound train. It has been reported that the man who lost his life had suffered a heart attack. Initial investigations by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch have revealed that rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’, leading to speculation that the down train could not be stopped in the loop but slid beyond it. It has also been reported that the driver of the train left the cab in the last few seconds, and warned passengers to brace themselves because a collision was imminent. Network Rail has been working to separate and remove the damaged trains. Simultaneously, Network Rail engineers have been carrying out repairs, maintenance and safety inspections. Test trains will run through the area to make sure everything is operating normally before passenger services restart on Monday, but Network Rail has warned there could still be some disruption for a while. Network Rail’s Wales & Borders route director Nick Millington said: ‘Monday night’s tragic events will forever be etched in my memory and my thoughts remain with all those affected. Thankfully, incidents like this are extremely rare on the railway network. We continue to operate one of the safest railway networks in Europe. ‘Our engineers have been on site throughout and have conducted very thorough safety checks and we will run test trains through the area. ‘I am grateful to the local community who have been very accommodating throughout this last week while we have been managing this incident. ‘I would also like to thank passengers for their patience, understanding and support during the last few days as our teams have worked tirelessly to restore the railway as quickly as they could.’ TfW chief operating officer Jan Chaudhry van der Velde added: ‘The railways in Wales have a very good safety record, so when serious incidents like this happen, we at TfW, together with our partners at Network Rail, are determined to get to the bottom of what caused it. For that reason, we are co-operating fully with the authorities investigating the collision, and in particular, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.  ‘Our condolences go to the family of the passenger who passed away, and we hope that those passengers and staff members injured in the collision make a speedy recovery.’

RAIB highlights wheelslip as possible cause of Welsh collision

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch has made its first statement about Monday evening’s head-on collision at Talerddig, in which one man was killed and 15 other passengers injured. RAIB inspectors have been gathering evidence in a bid to discover how the two passenger trains came to meet on a single line section, about 800m west of the passing loop at Talerdigg. The down train, which apparently ran through the loop without stopping, was the 18.31 Transport for Wales service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth. The up train involved was the 19:09 from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury, also operated by TfW. The RAIB says initial evidence suggests that the collision occurred at approximately 24 km/h. Four of the 15 injured passengers are now known to have been seriously hurt. The information from the down train’s data recorder has been downloaded. The track has been inspected, witnesses interviewed and data from radio and signalling systems analysed. The RAIB’s initial inspection of the track near the collision point has found that wheel and rail adhesion was ‘relatively low’, suggesting that the train may have been affected by wheel slide when the driver applied the brakes to stop in the loop. The RAIB said it will be issuing a further update soon. The Office of Rail and Road has confirmed that HMRI inspectors are also at the scene. Meanwhile, a passenger on the down train told the BBC yesterday that the driver had tried to stop but the train still kept moving, which supports the RAIB’s suggestion that the wheels had lost at least some of their grip on the rails. Welsh cabinet transport secretary Ken Skates said: ‘I am extremely grateful to the emergency services who attended the scene and helped our passengers and staff. ‘The safety of our passengers and staff is, as always, our key priority. Transport for Wales are working closely with all agencies, including emergency services and Rail Accident Investigation Branch, to understand how this incident happened, and they will have my full support.’

Welsh train collision kills one, injures 15

A fatal head-on collision between two passenger trains in mid-Wales may have been caused by low rail adhesion due to fallen leaves. The trains collided last night at Talerddig at about 19.30. They were the 18.31 from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 19.09 from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury. One man was killed and 15 others are reported to have needed hospital treatment, although their injuries are not thought to have been critical. The man who died was a passenger on one of the trains. Emergency services have been at the scene all night, and railway inspectors from the Office of Rail and Road have been gathering evidence. Transport for Wales has also launched its own inquiry. The Cambrian line is closed east of Machynlleth, and replacement buses are running today. The accident was close to the Talerddig passing loop. Early reports say one of the trains did not stop in the loop and then collided with the train approaching from the other direction. Anthony Hurford, a passenger on the down train, told the BBC he felt ‘pretty shellshocked’. He continued: ‘The word that keeps coming to my head is just brutal really. Just going from, I don't know how fast we were going, maybe 40, 50, 60 miles an hour, to nothing in the blink of an eye. ‘Somehow my body bent the leg of a table and ripped it off its bolts attached to the wall. Suddenly I was on the floor with my laptop strewn ahead of me, wondering what the hell had happened.’ He said the driver had tried to stop, but ‘for whatever reason the train wouldn't stop.’ Fallen leaves were blamed for a side collision between two trains on a junction at one portal of Salisbury tunnel on 31 October 2021, in which 14 people were hurt. The last fatal accident involving passengers on a British railway was the derailment of a ScotRail HST near Carmont in August 2020. A fatal head on collision also occurred on the Cambrian line near the former station of Abermule on 26 January 1921, in which 17 lives were lost. The accident was caused by a misunderstanding. The inquiry reported that one of the trains had been carrying the single line tablet for the previous section.

Government announces major review of ‘dire’ HS2

The Government has dismissed reports that construction of HS2 could be going ahead between the West Midlands and Crewe, and is launching an independent review of the costs of Phase 1 between London and Birmingham with the intention of learning lessons from the troubled history of the high speed line. Former London Underground managing director and Crossrail CEO Mark Wild has been named as the new chief executive of HS2 Ltd, while some of the construction contracts are to be reviewed and could be amended. Transport secretary Louise Haigh said the extent of the challenge inherited on HS2 has become clear, with ‘costs being allowed to spiral out of control and failure to deliver to budget’. The Government is attributing the soaring costs of HS2 to ’poor project management, inflation and poor performance from the supply chain, without sufficient explanation of what is to be done to deliver to budget’. It has also made it clear that it will not be reversing last year’s decision to cancel Phases 2A and 2B, although it ‘recognises concerns about connectivity between Birmingham and Manchester’. Even so, ministers say the primary focus is now the completion of HS2 Phase 1 between London and Birmingham ‘at the lowest reasonable cost’. The Government is also reinstating ministerial oversight of the project to ensure greater accountability. This will involve regular meetings from now on, where both the transport secretary and rail minister Lord Hendy will be joined by the chief secretary to the Treasury. They plan to ‘challenge and remove obstacles to securing the full benefits of the railway more cost effectively’. Transport secretary Louise Haigh said: ‘One of my first jobs has been to urgently review the position I have inherited on HS2. ‘It has long been clear that the costs of HS2 have been allowed to spiral out of control, but since becoming transport secretary I have seen up close the scale of failure in project delivery – and it’s dire. ‘Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 is delivered efficiently and I won’t stand for anything less.    ‘I have promised to work fast and fix things and that's exactly why I have announced urgent measures to get a grip on HS2’s costs and ensure taxpayers’ money is put to good use.  It's high time we make sure lessons are learnt and the mistakes of HS2 are never repeated again.’ The independent Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance Review will be led by senior infrastructure delivery advisor James Stewart, and will make recommendations to the Government this winter. It will investigate the oversight of major transport infrastructure projects, including the effectiveness of forecasting and reporting of cost, schedule and benefits, as well as ways to make savings.

Derby is ‘beating heart’ of railway, but industry is ‘failing to pull together’

Transport secretary Louise Haigh was among more than 200 guests at the official opening of Derby’s Rail Campus, and during the event she emphasised that major railway reforms are already under way. Yesterday’s opening follows the recent creation of Shadow Great British Railways, which is to be based at Derby, and where the GBR Transition Team is already at work. The city is traditionally described as the largest hub of rail-related businesses in Europe, and the Campus is the result of a joint effort between Derby City Council, the Great British Railways Transition Team, East Midlands Combined County Authority, and other stakeholders. The transport secretary said the city would play a key role in transforming the railways: ‘Derby is already a hub for rail with the largest concentration of innovation and expertise in Europe, and today I was delighted to see how the local council plans to expand this even further through a new Rail Campus,’ she said. ‘The lack of political leadership on rail has left an industry more comfortable looking inwards, that fails to pull together when things go wrong, that has lost focus on improving each part of people’s experience with the railways – so passengers don’t get the journeys they deserve. ‘The railways are at the centre of our plans for change, and I look forward to seeing how the Campus will lead to greater innovation, growth and collaboration, benefiting not only our rail network but the wider economy too.’ Derby City Council leader Councillor Nadine Peatfield added: ‘This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Derby; one that will create more training and jobs for local people, and bring huge opportunities for further regeneration. ‘Rail Campus Derby will not only preserve our rail heritage, but will also be a catalyst for future economic growth, bringing together all aspects of the railway industry, attracting more investment, and creating further opportunities for collaboration across the sector. ‘I know the potential that Derby has. We already boast an incredibly skilled workforce and are home to major players and an unrivalled rail sector. By working together we can make Rail Campus Derby the beating heart of the rail network.’

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